Adaptation Ongoing For Florida Powerboat Club Key West Poker Run

It’s fair to say that Stu Jones of the Florida Powerboat Club has his annual Key West Poker Run wired after producing it for 31 years. With 220 boats registered so far, sign-ups for the November 5-11 event are their typically robust selves. And there are three-and-a-half weeks to go before the first group departs the Miami and Coconut Grove area, so that number is sure to grow.

“We can still register a few more teams based on available docking and a small number of rooms remaining in our eight-hotel inventory,” Jones said.

The Florida Powerboat Club’s signature event, the Key West Poker Run is constantly evolving. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.But valuable as all that experience is to his Pompano Beach, Fla.-headquartered business, Jones is constantly tweaking the event, adapting to circumstances and learning.

In 2023, for example, Jones brought back the long-discontinued Tuesday departure wave. The move proved successful, so the Tuesday exit-option is back this year, as are the longstanding Wednesday and Thursday options.

“A noticeable shift toward the earlier departure days played well into our plans, as this spreads out the flow of boats over the three days making each day more manageable for the lunch venues and ourselves as organizers,” Jones explained. “It means less powerboat traffic at checkpoints for lunch and fuel.”

The Key West run’s traditional lunch stop at Gilbert’s Resort and Tiki Bar also has been a traditional congestion point. In years past, Thursday groups have exceeded the 100-boat mark and the venue simply lacks adequate dockage for a group of that size. Fueling the issue, as Jones has said many times, is the proliferation of larger and wider performance-oriented center consoles.

Thanks to limited dockage and larger boats, big groups arriving at Gilbert’s create traffic jams.

So Jones has found a solution for the upcoming event—and it’s across the channel from Gilbert’s.

“We have a new checkpoint/lunch stop with spacious dockage at the Anchorage Resort and the Blackwater Siren restaurant on property,” he said. “That will take the stress off Gilbert’s.

“Adding the Anchorage Resort docks in Key Largo across from Gilbert’s provides docking for another 20 boats, and the Blackwater Siren is known by locals as one of the best restaurants in the area,” he continued. “It’s just a little less noticeable because it’s tucked away in a corner below the causeway.”

As he did for the Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats owners, who run Thursday but stop for lunch as a group at Sundowners restaurant in Key Largo, as well as the Cigarette Racing Team owners who lunch at the Playa Largo Resort 10 miles south of Gilbert’s, Jones has arranged a different lunch stop for a group coming from Fort Myers. The six-boat group will run father south and stop at the Faro Blanco Resort in Marathon.

The traditional Florida Powerboat Club Poker Run Village adjacent to the Conch Republic Seafood Company restaurant also will see significant changes this year.

The Florida Powerboat Club Poker Run Village will return to its roots as a boat show. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

“We had discussions with our venue hosts at the end of last year‘s event, and they were very concerned about the growing presence of large apparel trailers, a private fleet of tractor-trailers and large RVs,” said Jones. “They emphasized the importance of having a boating-themed Poker Run Village. They have asked for more powerboats, and I don’t blame them.

“So for 2024 we made some changes and are promising more of a ‘powerboat show,’ as it should be,” he continued. “I’m excited about the new format, which also will open up the Poker Run Village with a new entrance at Greene Street.”

The week before the Key West event, Jones and his wife, Jackie, will head for the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. The couple will take part in a special event on the opening day of exhibition, but for now Jones is keeping the news under wraps.

“There’s no rest this time of year for many of us in the high-performance marine industry,” he said. “It’s wide-open throttle for at least six weeks right up until Thanksgiving. Then we can exhale—and start thinking about 2025.”